


Awakening

by Zethsaire



Category: Persona 3, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, Persona Series
Genre: Brain Damage, Coma, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Erectile Dysfunction, Everyone Is Alive, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, He doesn't die though, I'm sensing a theme here, M/M, Medical Procedures, References to Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-16 19:54:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4638159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zethsaire/pseuds/Zethsaire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shinjiro might have woken up from his coma, but that doesn't mean things are all better now.  Especially when Akihiko finds out he's out of the hospital.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> This is mostly just porny fluff domestic to express all the gooey angsty feels I have about Shinjiro and Akihiko and all the angst. I've been playing Persona Q recently and watching them interact is just. Ugh, it kills me.
> 
> For the purposes of this fic, the Persona avatar character is female, because if you play Persona 3 with her and max out your relationship Shinjiro is just in a coma instead of dying. No, you shut up, that's how it goes, he never dies. Nope. Nada.
> 
> Enjoy!! :D  
> Enjoy!!

“You ass, why didn't you tell me you were out of the hospital?!”

“I didn't want to worry you.”

“ _Worry_ me? I was _worried_ when I went to visit your comatose ass and the bed was empty! I thought you _died._ ”

“I didn't know. No one told me.”

Akihiko looked away. “I might have snuck into your room. You weren't allowed visitors in the ICU.”

Shinjiro smirked around his cigarette. “Now who's the ass?”

“Oh, shut up,” Akihiko scowled. “Are you supposed to be smoking those?”

“When has that ever stopped me?”

Akihiko sat down next to Shinjiro and casually put his arm behind him. “How – are you? They said that the watch Yuki gave you stopped the bullet from killing you.”

“Yeah. Yeah, she – she found it. Said she wanted to start seeing me, you know.” There was a blush on Shinjiro's face. “I told her I wasn't any good for her.”

“And then you went and got yourself shot,” Akihiko smacked him on the back of the head.

“Hey, watch it! I  _just_ woke up from a coma you know,” Shinjiro snarled, and smacked Akihiko back. 

That was all it took for them to end up fighting right there in the alley. Akihiko didn't know why he did it, he just – he'd always been physical, and Shinjiro was the one who took it from worried violence to angry violence. Akihiko won; he'd been training and fighting and Shinjiro had been laying on a bed wasting away. There was absolutely no satisfaction in the victory. Shinjiro had always been the stronger of the two of them, and when he ended up on his back underneath Akihiko, it just made him think of how Shinji had looked, laying there mostly dead on the pavement.

“You – you idiot.” Akihiko whispered, and then they were kissing.

Shinjiro rolled with Akihiko's moods just like he always did, and though he still looked pissed, his lips were warm, and his hands came up to curl tightly around Akihiko's ass and pull him up higher so their groins were lined up. Akihiko groaned, and his hips ground down into Shinji's. They hadn't messed around in forever, and then Shinji had been nearly dead and – it just felt so _good_ to have Shinji here, underneath him, even if his knees were grinding into the pavement, and they were filthy.

For once, Shinjiro didn't try to pull away. He just laid there and let Akihiko have his way with him. If he'd wanted to, Aki probably could have kept going until they both came, right there. But he was an adult now, and besides, he didn't want their first time since Shinji was better to be in a shitty back alley. So he pulled away with a groan, and put his head against Shinji's coat, and tried to calm down.

“I love you so much,” he whispered, “I thought I'd lost you.”

“I thought you had, too.” Shinji said, his eyes closed. “I thought – I _was_ an idiot.”

“Wait – did you just – apologize? Is the world ending? Check the news! The apocalypse is imminent!” Akihiko grinned.

“Oh, shut up. Get off me, you're heavy.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

Akihiko offered his hand to pull Shinji up, and Shinji looked at it like it was a trap, at first, before sighing, and letting Aki pull him to his feet. “Ugh, I'm so out of shape.”

“We can work on that.”

Shinjiro's eyes were wary. “I'm not sure I can keep up with whatever insane work out scheme you'd want to put me through.”

“Well...there'd be a lot of sex.” Akihiro grinned.

Shinjiro snorted. “You know, not everything is about sex and working out you know.”

“No, you're right. There's also protein!”

Shinjiro just groaned.

Xxx

Akihiko's apartment wasn't much, just a single room with a hot plate, futon, some weights, and a stack of books he was working through. He'd only just moved in after graduation, and with everything else that was going on, he really just hadn't felt up to doing anything with the place. Shinjiro didn't seem to care much, though, but that could have had something to do with Akihiko sinking down to his knees as soon as they got inside and locked the door.

Shinji groaned as Akihiko opened his pants with shaking fingers, nosing at the black briefs underneath. He was suddenly nervous; they hadn't done this in a really long time, and the last time had really just been two young teens fooling around. It hadn't been – they hadn't been _serious_. And Akihiko had been with a couple girls since then, but no other men. Sure, he watch porn, but that didn't really translate to actual skill. He wanted their first time back together to be really good. Hell, he didn't even know if they were _together_ together.

Fuck.

“It's not going to bite you, you know.”

That made Aki laugh, and he said, “yeah, yeah, I know. I'm just nervous.”

“I'm not going to grade you on your technique or anything. It's been a long time for me, too.”

“When was the last time?” He asked, before he could think about the words coming out of his mouth.

“Dunno. When was the last time we fucked?”

“You've really never been with anyone else?”

Shinjiro gave him a weird look. “Why would I?”

Akihiko decided that was a deeper question than he really wanted to answer now, nerves or not. Besides, he'd always tackled things head on; he certainly wasn't going to back down from sex. He pulled off Shinjiro's clothes in one movement, and took Shinji into his mouth. It tasted – god. So good. He'd always thought it was bullshit when girls claimed he tasted good, and maybe it was just because it'd been so long but damn. He'd missed this.

Shinjiro was quiet, but that wasn't surprising. He'd always been quiet, even in bed. Akihiko was the loud one. He felt bad for his neighbors; the soundproofing in his apartment left something to be desired. Every time he managed to get a grunt or sigh out of Shinjiro, Akihiko felt as accomplished as if he'd made the other man scream.

It took a long time for Shinjiro to get hard. Long enough that Akihiko was a little worried, in fact. Maybe it was too soon; he'd just been released from the hospital. Maybe he didn't want to do this right now. Akihiko was hard and aching himself, but Shinjiro was just over half-mast, and had been for almost ten minutes. But Shinji's hand was on his head, in his hair, and his eyes were half closed in pleasure, so it wasn't like he wasn't enjoying himself. Akihiko just wondered if he was doing something wrong. It had always been so fast before. They'd only been fifteen, so everything was fast, but -.

Finally Shinjiro sighed and pulled him away. “It's my fault.”

“Um.” Aki looked up at him, jaw aching and lips swollen and Shinjiro _still_ wasn't hard.

“They told me it might be a side effect. Massive heart trauma, coma, and all that.” Shinjiro slid down the wall until he was sitting next to Akihiko. “I didn't tell them I'd been like this since I started taking those pills. How was I supposed to explain it to them?”

Akihiko hated those damn pills. “How long?”

“Since a couple months after I started taking them. I wasn't with anyone so I didn't notice at first. But by then I didn't care. I kinda hoped everything would …reset, you know? I was asleep for so damn long.”

“You're not taking them now, are you?”

“No. I wouldn't, even if I could. Besides, you guys killed everyone who was making them. And I don't really need them any more anyway. Castor's been quiet since I woke up. I don't even know if I could summon him if I wanted to.”

“Apparently we'll all lose touch with our Persona, as we get older. It happens.”

“Can't say I'll miss it.”

Akihiko didn't know what he was going to do when he lost his Persona, but with everything that had happened...he couldn't say he blamed Shinji for feeling that way. He shifted the conversation by motioning towards Shinjiro's dick.

“Do you want me to stop?”

Shinjiro shrugged. “Still feels good. Can't promise I'll come though. It's frustrating.”

“Yeah. Um. Wanna lay down and make out?”

“Sure.”

Akihiko went over to his futon and started undressing awkwardly. There hadn't been much making out before, either. They'd fumbled around a bit, kissed some, and then had gone straight to blow jobs. His fifteen-year-old self had thought blow jobs were _awesome_. Plus neither of them had their own place, so there was no relaxing or taking time to just be together; it was frantic fucks when their dorm mates were out, or behind dumpsters, in alleys, and one time on a teacher's desk. His team mates would probably have been horrified if they'd known.

He was nervous again; enough to fumble with his buttons. Then there was a warm weight against his back, and Shinji was unbuttoning his shirt for him.

“Here, idiot. You'd think we'd never done this before.”

“We haven't though. Not like this.”

“'S just sex. It's not complicated.”

“Say the guy who hasn't had any.”

Shinjiro shut him up with a kiss. He'd put his briefs back on but taken off everything else. He pulled off Akihiko's shirt and unbuttoned his pants with one hand, the other tilting Aki's head up for a better angle. Shinjiro was a really good kisser. Aki didn't know if he'd forgotten that, or just not appreciated that quality enough before.

His erection came back quickly. Shinjiro still wasn't really hard, but he hadn't gone completely soft either, so Akihiko was determined to keep going until Shinji told him to stop or someone got off. They stood there, and kissed, and spent their time getting to know each other's bodies again. Shinjiro was so _tall_. He'd grown at least another inch in the hospital; he might even be six feet tall now. Akihiko didn't like how easy it was to feel his ribs, but he did like how much of the other man there was. Even after being in the hospital Shinjiro was still beautiful, and Akihiko loved exploring every inch of him.

Shinjiro remembered a lot of his hot spots, and spent his time finding more; sucking on Akihiko's ear and his neck and on his collarbones. Akihiko tried to keep the focus on Shinji but eventually lust drowned everything else out. His dick wanted attention and it wanted it _now_.

He slipped a hand down between his legs, pressing against the heel of his hand with a whimper. He wanted to come so badly, and they hadn't even really done anything yet. He didn't want to back down first either; Shinjiro wasn't anywhere near as desperate. It wasn't _fair._

“Don't be a stubborn ass.”

Shinjiro laid him down on top of the futon and blankets; still out on the floor from where he'd never bothered to roll it up that morning. Akihiko just whimpered and wondered when he'd lost control of the situation. Then Shinji's long fingers were finally, _finally_ touching him, and pulling his underwear out of the way, and Shinji's _tongue._

“Ngh!”

He wasn't going to last. Eighteen years old, and he was going to come like they were still in middle school. He brought his fist up to his mouth and bit down to stifle a loud cry. It just felt so _good._ Then, just as he was about to come, Shinjiro pulled away. Akihiko wanted to scream in frustration.

Shinjiro was pushing the blankets back from the top of the bed, looking for something. Akihiko opened his mouth to yell at him, and then Shinji pulled out the bottle of lube Akihiko kept under his pillow, smirking triumphantly.

“Same brand and everything. You're so predictable.”

Akihiko would have had something smart to say about that, except then Shinjiro's mouth was back. And his hands were on his balls, and his perineum, and then there was a cold, slick finger at his entrance and he was arching up off the bed. He really – he really hadn't expected that.

He didn't last. It might have been five minutes, and he was screaming around his fist as he came. Shinjiro smirked and swallowed it all, and if he could have, Akihiko would have come again from that. He couldn't, so he collapsed back against the futon and just groaned. Shinjiro laid down next to him and put an arm around his waist. He looked happy, which was good, because Akihiko didn't think he could move right now even if Shinji had wanted him to.

“Good?”

“Nnn.”

“Heh. Good.”

It had been a long time since Akihiko had been this buzzed after sex. He let himself enjoy his orgasm, since Shinjiro had stopped trying to get off. This was really – strange. Good, but strange. So – so good...

He might have fallen asleep for a bit, because when he opened his eyes, Shinjiro was dressed again, sitting next to him. It had been so long since Akihiko had seen Shinjiro without his thick coat that he was almost surprised to see how thin Shinji was. Without the bulk of his coat he looked positively _tiny_. He was still taller than Akihiko, but his arms were pale and thin where they rested, wrapped around his legs. He was wearing a light Club Escapade t-shirt, and no hat, and his hair fell around his shoulders in shaggy waves. Aki was glad they hadn't cut it in the hospital; he liked Shinji's hair long.

“Aren't you cold? You're not wearing your coat.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I don't need it any more.”

“?”

“I'm not taking those pills now, so I can regulate my body temperature. I'm a lot warmer than I used to be, even after losing the weight.”

“I hate those fucking pills.”

Shinji smiled wryly, “I was an idiot, that's for sure. Too damn stubborn to stop even when I knew they were making me sick. And anyways, I feel a lot better without them.”

“Good. The only thing you should be pumping yourself with is protein.” Akihiko said seriously.

That made Shinji laugh. “You should just get a job promoting protein powder. Really. You don't shut up about it.”

“Hey! How else do you think I got this fabulous body?”

Shinjiro's eyes roamed Akihiko's still-bare torso. “Mmm. It's alright, I guess. If you're into that sort of thing.”

“I remember you being very _into_ it a few minutes ago!”

“You're so easy. Really. It's good to see things haven't changed. Now what do you have for food here? I'm starving.”

“Um...”

Shinjiro got up and started poking through Akihiko's cupboards. Aki knew the only things he had were canned, dried, or instant, and a few buckets of protein powder. Sure enough, Shinjiro turned around with a expression of exasperation, holding his shameful collection of instant ramen.

“Instant noodles? _Really?_ Have I taught you nothing? You should be ashamed.”

“Food wasn't really the biggest thing on my mind,” he mumbled, “and anyways, I can always go out to eat.”

“Shame on you. You've got eggs; boil some water and eggs while I'm gone.”

“Where are you going?”

“To get you some _real_ food.”

Akihiko was about to ask where Shinji was going to get money for that, before he realized that would be a really shitty thing to say. And then Shinji flourished Akihiko's wallet at him.

“Hey!”

“You're the one with no food. You have no right to complain. And really, it was way too easy to steal your wallet. You're getting lax without me around.”

“Well I guess you'll just have to be around more.”

Shinjiro made a non-committal sound. “I'll be back in a bit.”

Once Shinji decided to cook, there was no stopping him. Akikiho got up and took a shower, wishing he actually had a full bath in his apartment. Then he cleaned up; put his laundry away and folded up the futon and blankets. Shinjiro still wasn't back, so he started working his way through a set of stretches, enjoying the slight soreness left over from the sex. It would have been better if Shinji had actually fucked him, but then again...he wasn't sure if he was quite ready for that yet, so perhaps this was best.

Even though he was taller, Shinjiro actually didn't like to top very much. He'd always been the more passive of the two of them; always going along with things when Akihiko wanted to fuck, but rarely instigating anything himself. He'd fuck Aki when he asked, but he was also more than happy to bottom, and never seemed to worry about any of the stigma attached to laying on his back and taking it. Not that Akihiko really thought any of that was true, but it still lingered sometimes in the back of his mind.

They'd never been public about their relationship. Neither of them had been open about the fact that they enjoyed spending time with other men. Some of Akihiko's girlfriends had been suspicious about it, but really Akihiko was less interested in them because of a lack of shared interest than that he preferred dick. He liked both genders, but the only other women who knew about Personas and the other life he led were like sisters to him. Shinjiro was the only one he'd really felt a connection with, in that way. Shinji put up with him, even when he knew he was being overbearing, or too aggressive, or obsessed with fighting. Sure, they argued, but Shinjiro was one of the only people who would go where Akihiko led, but also push back when Aki needed it most.

“I'm back,” Shinjiro announced, toeing off his shoes as he entered. He had at least six bags of groceries on each arm.

“You shouldn't be carrying all that,” Akihiko protested, getting up and taking some of the bags from him.

Shinjiro scowled. “You're not my physical therapist.”

“I'm not your neurologist either, but I bet you're not going to listen to either of them, so I'll have to do.”

Shinji just made an irritable hand motion. “Did you at least boil the eggs? No. No you didn't. What am I going to do with you?”

“Shit.” He'd completely forgotten.

“Whatever. Here, put this in a pot and boil it. You can cook the eggs at the same time.” Shinjiro dug around in a bag and handed him a fresh pork bone. “For flavor,” he said.

Akihiko did as he was told, because Shinji's food was always good, and he did at least have a pot big enough for a soup base. After he got the water and eggs boiling, he helped by chopping up vegetables while Shinjiro made noodles from scratch, because he was crazy like that. Then he stayed out of the way while Shinji made the soup; instead putting away all of the fresh food Shinji had gotten him. If he knew his friend, Shinji would have gotten the day old vegetables, so they were cheaper, but still good. Akihiko had a small salary draw from his time with SEES, and he also worked part-time teaching boxing while he figured out what he was going to do now that he'd graduated and everything was over.

“Do you have a place to stay?” Akihiko asked.

“Mmm. Yeah, I still have my apartment above Club Escapade. They held it for me while I was in the hospital.”

Akihiko knew that Shinjiro and the Club Escapade owner were close, but he hadn't known they were close enough for the guy to hold Shinji's apartment for him. Well. That was good. Aki had this half idea that he'd ask Shinjiro to come live with him but this was probably for the best.

“What else have you been doing?”

“Annoying my physical therapist, smoking too much. I started working bar at the club again, just part time for now. It pays for the apartment at least. And I get to eat there for free. I'm not sure what I actually want to do now that things are over.”

“Yeah, me either. I've been sort of thinking about going to college, but I don't know what I'd go for. I've got some offers at the boxing club to go pro; I'm thinking about it.”

“I think that'd be good for you. Physical activity is basically all you do anyway. Can you really see yourself as a salaryman?”

“Ugh.”

“Heh. S' what I thought.”

“So you really have no ideas?”

“Eh, I think I might take the  high school equivalence test.  I never got to finish my education, and it's – I don't know, I just feel like I should, you know? Then, well, I'm good at cooking, so maybe I could do something with that, but I don't really want to. I cook for fun; I can't really picture myself doing it for work. There's a lady who comes to the club who runs a specialty garden, raising plants that she sells to rich people. Miniature bonsai's, jade vines, kadupul flowers, that sort of thing. And she likes me, we talk a lot. She's been thinking of expanding and is going to need an apprentice. I don't know if she'd consider taking on a thug, but I might ask.”

“You're not a thug.”

Shinjiro made a self-depreciating sound. “I dropped out of school, I smoke, and I was in a coma from getting shot by my drug dealer. I'm kind of a thug.”

“Fine, you  _ were _ a thug. But now you're whatever you want to be.”

“The noodles are done.”

That was an abrupt change of subject, but Akihiko let it go for now. He got down bowls and ladled soup in each one, adding a pile of noodles with his new cooking chopsticks. Shinjiro had already gotten out the eating chopsticks, and handed Aki a pair, before rolling his eyes and getting out a bucket of protein powder for Aki to sprinkle on his ramen.

“I still can't believe you do that. Ruin my fresh ramen.”

“It's not ruined, it's  _ better _ .” Akihiko grinned, and sat down at his low table to eat.

Shinji lowered himself down on the other side, and dug into his own food. It was amazing, as usual. Akihiko really hadn't tried to cook for himself since Shinji had left, partially because he hated cooking, but also because he knew he'd never be able to match Shinjiro's cooking skills.

“'S good, Shinji.”

“Good. Someone's gotta make sure you eat properly. 'Specially if you're going to be a pro. Can't live on protein powder alone, Aki.”

“I could try,” Akihiko grumbled, but he knew Shinjiro was right.

“How 'bout I come over a couple times a week and cook dinner for you? Or lunch, whenever works around both our schedules.”

“Yeah, that'd be great. You got a phone yet?”

“Nah. My old one is probably still in police evidence. Give me your number again, and I'll text you. I'll get a prepaid one or something.”

“Sure, here, just a sec.”

Akihiko rummaged around in his old school bag and pulled out a pen and paper, jotting down his number really quickly before handing it to Shinjiro. “When's your next appointment? I could go with you.”

Shinjiro grimaced. “I was thinking of skipping.”

“C'mon man, you want me to eat healthy. You need to see your doctor. I promise, I'll be right there, and I can help with your therapy and stuff. I won't judge you I swear.”

“You might when you see just how out of shape I am,” Shinjiro grumbled. “But yeah. Ok. My next appointment on Friday, with the neurologist. 9 am.”

“I'll be there.”

xxx

Akihiko had been going with Shinjiro to his appointments for months now, but today was the first time that he'd come along for any of Shinji's tests. He barely tolerated Akihiko walking him to and from his physical therapy. He refused to let Aki see him get his blood drawn, or come along on the dozens of tests he was put through each month. Akihiko wasn't sure what Shinjiro was keeping from him, but he'd done enough reading about comas since he'd gotten back together with Shinjiro to know that people didn't just bounce back from one like they did on television. There had to be side effects that Akihiko wasn't seeing.

Dr. Tanada was an easygoing doctor, with a bright smile to match her twinkling brown eyes. She took Akihiko's presence in stride, telling him it was fine if he was here with Shinjiro, but he'd have to wait on the other side of the room, in the chairs, while she ran an MRI. Shinjiro looked nervous – it wasn't obvious, just a tinge of paleness to his skin, a few wrinkles around his eyes, but Akihiko could tell he wasn't happy about being here. Shinji had never liked tight, enclosed spaces, and the MRI was loud to boot.

“I'll be right out here, okay?”

“Yeah. I know.” 

Shinji put his head on Akihiko's shoulder for a moment, before letting out a deep breath and toeing out of his shoes. He handed Akihiko his watch a chain necklace, and Akihiko took the opportunity to squeeze his hand. He went to the side of the room behind the curtain and came out a few minutes later in a blue hospital gown with cats on it, which made Akihiko smile, even if Shinjiro looked thin and pale and slightly terrified.

“That's a good look for you,” he chided, and Shinji scowled.

“Shut it.” 

But he looked more annoyed, and less afraid, so Akihiko considered it a win.

The MRI took a long time. Shinjiro had to lay down, and then it took Dr. Tanada some time to calibrate the machine and arrange Shinji's hair so it wouldn't be in the way, before the tube slid into place and started up with a loud whirr. It was a long half-hour of waiting while the machine took pictures of Shinjiro's brain. Dr. Tanada asked him a series of questions in a calm voice, and the machine took a photo after each one. 

When the test was done and Shinjiro was dressed again, he sat next to Akihiko waiting for the results, and curled his hand in Akihiko's, putting his head down on Aki's shoulder. They'd never been demonstrative in public, so Akihiko was a little surprised, but Shinjiro was obviously shaken by the test, so Akihiko gave his hand a squeeze and said nothing.

Dr. Tanada came back in about half an hour later, and sat down across from them. She glanced down at their entwined hands, but didn't comment on it, instead addressing Shinjiro. “Most of your scans look very good, Aragaki-san. You are recovering much faster than expected. I was worried that you might suffer a relapse, but your progress seems steady and positive. I'm a bit concerned about your reading, however. Having you been doing your language exercises?”

Akihiko hadn't even known Shinji _had_ language exercises to do.

Shinjiro kept his gaze focused on the ground in front of him. “I tried but. I can't really focus on words. Anything longer than a few sentences and I lose track of what I'm reading. It's really frustrating.”

“How has your kanji retention been?”

“I mostly just read kata-kana and the more simple kanji. I didn't really have that big of a vocabulary before; I dropped out of school, and didn't really do a lot of studying before the coma. So I can't say how much I've lost. I couldn't read a newspaper or a novel without looking kanji up, even before. Didn't really care to.”

“Is there anything you enjoy reading?”

“Um. I used to read manga when I was younger. I've never really been into novels or anything academic, really. I'm more hands on.”

“That could account for some of your quick physical recovery. I'd like you to try to find some manga you like to read, and try to get though at least two of them before we meet next time. Do you have a kanji reference book?”

“I have one,” Akihiko spoke up. He still had all his school books, including the various kanji reference guides he'd used over the years.

“Good. I'll send a refill of your prescriptions to the pharmacy, Aragaki-san. Do you have any other questions?”

“I um. Was wondering if you could sign off on a job recommendation for me? It's just working at a greenhouse, nothing strenuous. It's a solid routine, and my employer knows about – lingering brain damage.” Shinjiro pulled a small packet of paper out of his pocket and handed it over.

Dr. Tanada studied the paper for some time, before nodding slowly. “Well, you have been attending your therapy recently, and other than the reading portion, your scan looks much better this month. How's quitting smoking going?”

Shinji looked to the side. He hadn't even really been trying, despite Aki and all his doctors pestering him to quit.

“How about this; you pick up some anti-smoking patches at the pharmacy when you pick up your prescriptions, and I'll sign off on this.”

Shinjiro brightened, looking the most happy he had since he'd told Akihiko about the MRI yesterday. “I will.”

“We really do want the best for you, Aragaki-san.”

“I-I know.”

She signed his form with a flourish, and handed it back to him. “I'll see you next month, Aragaki-san. Please let me know if anything changes significantly before that.”

“Thank you.” Shinjiro bowed slightly, before getting up and putting his coat on. Akihiko followed suit with his lighter red sweater. 

He didn't take Shinji's hand again, but they walked closely together on their way out. Akihiko had never really been the most tactful of people, and he didn't know how to ask without being abrupt, so he just went with it. “So you're having trouble reading huh?”

Shinjiro scowled. “I don't want to talk about it.”

“You know, I'm not using my ridiculous education at the boxing club, but I could help you study.”

“I've got _brain damage_ , and it's not going to go away. They have no idea why I recovered as fast as I did on the physical side, and I couldn't really tell them it was probably because of Castor, now could I? But Persona stuff is all mental, right? So I think probably he protected that part of my brain. Hell, I don't know, that's just a guess. But I can't fucking _read_ Aki. Handwritten kanji is pretty much incomprehensible. Typed is better, but I don't know. I look at it, and it just all blurs together into this mess of characters that just don't mean anything.”

“But you're never going to recover if you don't try, right?”

“It doesn't really work like that.”

“No, but your doctor thinks you should practice reading. It's like physical therapy, just for your brain, right?”

“Protein powder isn't going to _fix_ this Aki.”

“I'm not saying that, idiot! I'm saying I care about you, and I want to help you however I can! And if it never gets better then if you need shit read to you I'll read it! But if you _can_ get some reading back, I want to help.”

“I-.” Shinjiro sighed. “Yeah, ok. Thanks.”

xxx

They were in Shinjiro's apartment, on his futon, which was spread out across the floor. Akihiko was underneath Shinjiro, who's dick was, for once, taking an interest in the proceedings. Shinjiro was practically frantic, mouthing at Aki's neck and collarbones, on of his hands down in Aki's pants already, the other tracing his nipples and making Akihiko groan into Shinjiro's mouth.

“Fuck, fuck, it's been so _long_ ,” Shinjiro moaned. 

“Yeah,” Akihiko said, because that was basically all he _could_ say, since he was trying not to come. He wasn't going to ruin Shinjiro's first time in ages by coming prematurely.

Akihiko kissed him fiercely, one hand in Shinjiro's thick hair, and gasped, “You wanna fuck me?”

Shinji seemed to consider it, before shaking his head. “Takes too long. Unless you're prepped already.”

“Um. No.” They hadn't had anal in a long time, and when they did Akihiko was usually the one on top. Shinji barely even finger fucked him, and prepping was a lot of work, so he hadn't bothered.

“Blow me.”

“Oh. Yeah, yeah, yes.”

There was a bit of rustling as they both stripped quickly, Shinjiro leaning back on his arms and spreading his legs and Akihiko practically crawling between them. Shinji had a really nice cock, and it was hard and flushed, practically begging Akihiko to suck it.

“You can be as loud as you want. No one's going to hear anything with the DJ downstairs.” Shinjiro said, as Akihiko swallowed him down and he let out a loud groan.

Shinjiro was _sexy_ when he was loud. He was normally so quiet, Akihiko couldn't believe his luck. If this had happened while they were at his place, Shinjiro would have shut his mouth and swallowed every single one of his noises, but instead, he was loud and enthusiastic, fucking up into Akihiko's mouth desperately and making his jaw and throat ache deliciously.

Aki was pretty sure he could come just from this. Making Shinjiro feel good was amazing. The other man was usually willing to have sex practically any time Akihko wanted it, but Aki always felt bad when he couldn't reciprocate. He was making up for it now by giving the most enthusiastic blow job of his life. When Shinjiro screamed and came down his throat, Akihiko felt as victorious as if he'd just won the state championships.

“Move in with me,” Akihiko said, when they were laying together afterwords. 

Shinjiro was half on top of him, one arm thrown around him, his face mashed up against Akihiko's shoulder and neck, one leg slung over Akihiko's. His hair was everywhere, practically blanketing the two of them, and Aki loved it.

“Mm?”

“Move in with me. I've been wanting to get a bigger place anyway; something with a proper bath, but there's no way I can afford it on my own.”

“I make crap money,” Shinjiro said into his shoulder.

“Yeah, but if you live with me you won't have to pay the assisted living lady.”

Shinjiro raised his head up to scowl at Aki. “You know about that?”

“You can't read but your bills are always stacked neatly and set up so all you have to do is sign them and attach a check, you never go shopping but you always have food, and she leaves instructions for you on the whiteboard above the kitchen counter in the neatest kata-kana I've ever seen. Of course I noticed.”

“I didn't want you to know.” Shinjiro said, tucking his head back under Akihiko's chin, clearly ashamed.

“It's okay that you need help with things. You know that, right? I wouldn't mind. Plus the company would be nice. And if you live with me you'll have more free time, since you won't be working downstairs at the club to pay for your place.”

“How do you know everything?” Shinjiro complained, but he'd told Akihiko about his living arrangements himself, so it wasn't like he was really upset.

“I do what I can,” Aki said, and scratched at Shinjiro's scalp softly until Shinjiro huffed and leaned into it.

“Fine.”

“Really?” Akihiko thought he'd have to bother Shinjiro about it for a few months, at least.

“Don't gloat. I want a place that's easy to get to public transit from. I'm not allowed to ride a bike or drive. And I want a decent kitchen. And a bath. A nice bath.”

Akihiko grinned. “Yeah, I can do that. I don't know how public you want to be, but there's a subletting place that rents to homosexual couples that just opened up. I brought an application home.” It had been a shock, though a pleasant one. With the bill recently passed to allow Japanese nationals to marry the same gender in other countries where it was legal, more LGBT friendly businesses were advertising, though most still operated discreetly. It was rare to find a place willing to rent to gay couples, and Akihiko was really hoping they'd be able to move in.

“...help me fill it out?”

“Of course.”

Shinjiro was silent after that, and Akihiko honestly thought he'd gone to sleep. He'd started making mental checklists of everything they'd need to have done before they applied for their new place, and who they could ask for letters of reference; Dr. Tanada and Shinji's physical therapist would likely be supportive, and he still had some connections from school that could prove useful, when Shinjiro spoke again.

“I'm glad I didn't die. I thought – I thought that it would have been for the best, after everything, that's the least I could do, you know? But. I'm glad that I get to be here with you.”

“Yeah.” Akihiko wasn't going to cry, he wasn't. It was just a bit – damp in here, that was all. “Me too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments give me life!


End file.
